Savvy seniors Stevenett, Heuir set for final act

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As the calendar moves forward to the final week of the regular season, the pressure to win has intensified for the Southern Utah men?s basketball team.

With the T-Birds closing in on a potential berth in the Big Sky Conference postseason tournament, seniors Jackson Stevenett and Damon Heuir have been the big cogs in the team?s push to the playoffs.

SUU has three games left in the regular season, and the challenge ahead is daunting. At 8-9 in Big Sky play, the T-Birds? drive to the tournament begins tonight at the Centrum with the Senior Night home finale against the league-leading Montana Grizzlies.

And all accolades for the graduating seniors, led by Stevenett and Heuir, are richly deserved.

Stevenett is locked in a virtual dead heat with Northern Arizona?s Gabe Rogers for the scoring title ? Rogers is at 17.93 points per game with Stevenett at 17.88 ? and Heuir is third at 15.9 ppg.

Both players are key to SUU?s postseason hopes, and they?ve been rocks through their careers. Stevenett has improved his scoring average in all four years, while Heuir has put in five more points per game than he did in his junior year.

And true to form in their final years, the pair have taken turns on a nightly basis topping the charts. Stevenett had a five-game streak of 20 points or better snapped in Saturday?s 62-61 home loss to Montana State, but he still led the way with 19 and his season best has been 29 twice. Heuir had a team-high 30 in a Jan. 5 road win over Northern Arizona.

Their total games led in scoring: Stevenett 15, Heuir 11. For SUU to secure a spot in the postseason tournament, both players will be counted on to continue the production.

While Stevenett and Heuir have the reins on offense, fellow senior Jordan Johnson has the mission of being the defensive pest. Johnson averages a steal per game, and had seven assists in a home win over NAU on Feb. 2. He?s appeared in all 27 SUU games with 14 starts.

Tyson Koehler is also playing his final home game for the T-Birds, and Julian Scott was lost for the season when he injured his knee in January.

As they head to the stretch run, SUU?s postseason future is literally up for grabs. Heading into tonight?s game, the T-Birds are percentage points behind Northern Colorado in fifth place, but only a half-game in front of Montana State, Sacramento State and Northern Arizona.

With three teams ? Montana, Weber State and North Dakota ? locked in for the Big Sky tournament, only four spots are open. One team will be left out in the cold after Saturday?s games are complete.

The Grizzlies also have plenty to play for in tonight?s game with only a half-game edge on the Wildcats in the race for the conference title. The winner of the crown stays home to host the postseason tournament that starts March 14.

After tonight, SUU will close the regular season on the road with games against the Bears on Thursday and North Dakota on Saturday.

Although the T-Birds beat both teams at home, they?re just 2-12 away from the Centrum this season.

It only adds to the intrigue for the T-Birds, who have been streaky, to say the least. For Stevenett and Heuir, the mission to keep the team?s ship on course begins right now.

 

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The T-Birds have lost four of their last five and are fifth in the Big Sky standings with three games left. ... The Grizzlies lead Weber State by a half-game in the race for the conference crown with a game in hand. The champion hosts the postseason tournament that starts March 14.

 

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Circumstances complicate Grizzlies' matchup with T-birds





Six days and three games separate the Montana men?s basketball team from hosting the Big Sky Conference tournament for the second straight season, something the Griz haven?t done since 1991-92.

Only one of those three games is on the road ? Monday night at league newcomer Southern Utah.

Three obvious obstacles will present themselves against the T-birds: The first-place Griz will again be playing without senior leaders Will Cherry and Mathias Ward, they?ll be playing 48 hours after an emotional win over rival Montana State, and they?ll be facing a physical Southern Utah team that sent them to the free-throw line 47 times the first time they met.

?Actually, I think the mental aspect might be the easier thing,? Montana coach Wayne Tinkle said Sunday from Cedar City, Utah. ?We remember our Southern Utah game and how they play, so I think keeping that mental edge will be easier for us. It?s are we ready physically and can we sustain it, then I think our mental toughness will kick in.?

The injury update on Ward isn?t encouraging.

?Mathias is down a little bit because he?s not sure if he?s going to be able to come back,? Tinkle said of the 6-foot-7 forward, who has a sprained arch and a tendon problem in his left foot. ?Being a fifth-year senior and having a great year, he wants to be there to help his teammates. He was really, really proud of the way the guys stepped up (Saturday) night in he and Will?s absence. That makes him feel better that we can still do it without him.?

The news on Cherry is more promising.

?Will was like a little kid last night and this morning,? Tinkle said of his point guard, who injured his right foot on Feb. 23 at Davidson. ?He was really happy for our guys and he?s hopeful he can get back out there.?

Tinkle said it?s tough preparing for a team that was whistled for 33 fouls in Montana?s 73-67 win in Missoula on Jan. 17. The T-birds were able to stay within striking distance in that game because the Griz had an uncharacteristically bad night at the line, missing 16 of the 47 free throws.

?You can?t practice and say, ?Let?s beat up on each other,? ? Tinkle said. ?You have to remind your guys that there will be a lot of grabbing and holding, pushing and shoving, and we?re on the road. You have to show great maturity. That?s what I talked about (Saturday) night before we took the court. I knew it was going to be a real test of mental and physical toughness because we were without our most mentally and physically tough guys. Playing against the Cats in that environment, knowing that on the road things aren?t necessarily going to go your way and that?s exactly what happened in the second half. I was really proud of our guys for showing ? with as much youth as we had out there ? some good maturity and mental toughness.?

The T-birds are led by 6-foot-7 forward Jackson Stevenett (17.9 ppg) and point guard Damon Heuir (15.9 ppg), the first and third leading scorers in the league.

?We have to try to hold them down from their averages,? Tinkle said. ?We can?t let Heuir get into the paint and distribute and get to the free-throw line. Stevenett?s a guy who can score inside and out. We have to make sure he?s taking contested shots from the perimeter and not getting in there and using his size, getting to the free-throw line.?

The Griz used strong performances from all five starters to beat the Cats on Saturday. Sophomore Keron DeShields started in place of Cherry and matched his career high with 17 points. Juniors Kareem Jamar and Spencer Coleman added 14 points apiece and another sophomore, Jordan Gregory, chipped in 11 points.

The win at Montana State should give the Griz confidence that they can still play well without Ward and Cherry.

?I think (Saturday) night was a turning point for that,? Tinkle said. ?We talked about ? it?s a tough stretch, but man, we?re a weekend away from achieving the goals we set out at the beginning of the year. We should be filled with a lot of enthusiasm and vigor to get after it no matter what?s been thrown at us because it?s going to be over quick, then the tournament. They know the importance of playing that thing at home as opposed to going on the road. I think after (Saturday) night?s performance and win it was a big confidence boost that we can win even though we are missing two of our main guys.?

 

[IE]

Giving Southern Utah +1? -110 a shot.

good luck tonight.